Water determined to be drinkable in Likely, BC

Residents of Likely, BC are breathing a sigh of relief as the results of water testing have just been announced.

Jennifer McGuire with the Ministry of Environment says they passed the test.

“A wide number of samples were collected and analyzed. We looked at PH conductivity, turbidity, total suspended solids, dissolved solids, and a suite of other things like Ecoli and other metals. This is the first batch of samples. All results came back meeting the requirements for Canadian and BC drinking water standards.”

However Dr. Trevor Corneil with Interior Health says the water use ban will remain in place.

“Certainly it makes a lot of sense as you go further down the lake towards Quesnel and the river that it will dilute some more but again we don’t know what is in Polley Lake. So until that time we are leaving the do not use water order in place.”

Corneil says Polley Lake is key because it feeds into Quesnel lake.

However no testing has been done there because debris has dammed in the lake, which is now rising threaening to burst so it is considered too dangerous to be near.

Results from more comprehensive testing are still pending.

On Monday the Imperial Metals tailings pond dam failed sending millions of cubic meters of muck and waste water into the local environment.